Sunday, August 13, 2017

International Left-Handers Day

"Life without left-handed people wouldn't be right."

- C.R. Manske, Brazilian-born, Florida-based author of The Making of Fredda Buttler and The Left-Handed People


- Attributed to W.C. Fields, American comedian

Today, August 13, is International Left-Handers Day.  It is celebratd to draw attention to the challenges and difficulties experienced by left-handers in a world overwhelmingly right-handed. The day was first observed on August 13, 1976 by Left-Handers International, which bills itself as "the world's leading publisher of left-handed information and media." 

 Although I am not left-handed myself, I have some close relatives who are lefties.  This has made me aware of the inconveniences they face in performing simple tasks such as using scissors, cutting food with a knife, spiral notebooks, desks, game controllers and baseball gloves.


Leonardo da Vinci  (1452-1519) - Italian artist, scientist, inventor

Paul McCartney (1942 - ) - British singer, songwriter, musician, former Beatle

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (1982 - ) - Second in the line of succession to the British throne

George Herman "Babe" Ruth (1895-1948) - American baseball great.  Babe Ruth batted and threw with his left hand, but wrote with his right hand.  He began his career as a left-handed catcher at St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys in Baltimore.  Left-handed catchers are rare and the school only had a catcher's glove for a right-hander, so young George would have to catch the ball with his left hand.  If a base runner attempted to steal, he would toss the glove aside, catch the ball and throw it to second base with his left hand.  Ruth, however, wrote with his right hand, so it is probably more accurate to call him ambidextrous.

David Bowie (1947-2016) - British singer, songwriter, actor

Jennifer Lawrence (1990 - ) - American actress

Photo Attribution: Gage Skidmore

Henry Ford (1863-1947) - American automobile manufacturer

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) - Austrian-born classical composer.  Mozart is though by some to have been left-handed.  Others think he was ambidextrous.

Pelé (1940 - ) - Brazilian football (soccer) great

Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) - American  astronaut, first human to walk on the moon

Tom Cruise (1962 - ) - American actor

Oprah Winfrey (1954 - ) - American television host, producer

Marie Curie (1867-1934) - Polish and naturalized French scientist, conducted pioneering research on radioactivity


Bill Gates (1955 - ) - American business magnate, founder of Microsoft

Photo Attribution:

W.C. Fields (1880-1946) - American comedian, actor

Judy Garland (1922-1969) - American singer and actress

Left handed or ambidextrous U.S. presidents
  • James A. Garfield. (1831-1881) 20th.president - Determining left-handed president before the 20th century is a daunting task.  Left-handedness was frowned upon and lefties were often forced to give up their natural inclination and use their right hand. That may have been the case with Garfield. 
  • Herbert Hoover. (1874-1964) 31st.president
  • Harry S. Truman. (1884-1972) 33rd president
  • Gerald Ford. (1913-2006) 38th president
  • Ronald Reagan. (1911-2004) 40th president - Reagan was reported to be totally left-handed, but was forced to switch at an early age.
  • George H.W. Bush. (1924-) 41st president
  • Bill Clinton. (1946- ) 42nd president
  • Barack Obama. (1961- ) 44th.president

L to R: Ford, Clinton and Obama

Note: James Garfield, Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan are regarded as ambidextrous, or having the ability to write with either hand.


* Roughly 10-12 per cent of the world's population is estimated to be left-handed.

* More males are left-handed than females.

* The word "sinister" is derived from the Latin "sinestra,"  It originally meant "left" but acquired meanings of evil, malicious or unlucky.

* Left-handed people are called "southpaws."  "Southpaw" is an American sports term referring especially to a left-handed pitcher in baseball.  According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, there is a popular theory that "late 19th-century ballparks were laid out so that the pitcher looked in a westerly direction when facing the batter. The throwing arm of a left-handed pitcher would then be to the south-hence the name southpaw"  However, Miriam-Webster states that the term was used as early as 1848 as a simple description for the left hand or a punch or blow delivered with the left hand.

- Joanne

EDITOR'S NOTE (Friday, September 8, 2017):  A reader has asked me to include a popular Indian actor, Amitabh Bachchan, in my list of famous left-handed people.  Amitabh Bachchan is known for his roles in "Bollywood" films.  He also portrayed a Jewish character, Meyer Wolfsheim, in the 2013 version of The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

 Amitabh Bachchan   Photo Attribution:


  1. I would like to mention here the name of one India actor 'Amitabh Bachchan'. He is immensely popular and my favorite film star. I would be glad if you include his his name as well in the left handed people list.

  2. See Editor's Note above regarding Amitabh Bachchan.